The functionality of a hearing device becomes increasingly advanced. Hearing device communication comprises wireless communication between a hearing device and external devices, such as hearing device fitting apparatus, tablets, smart phones and remote controllers, which increases in complexity. A wireless communication interface of a hearing device uses open standard-based interface which is convenient for communication with a hearing device, for various purposes such as fitting the hearing device on an individual's ear. However, hearing device communication is exposed to many challenges in terms of security. A device communicating with a hearing device may be a legitimate device but may also be a rogue device. If communication with a hearing device does not permit to distinguish legitimate devices from rogue devices, this opens the door to a plethora of attacks, such as unauthorized access to the hearing device memory to write or change data. Any such attacks may result in a malfunction of the hearing aid, e.g. a battery exhaustion attack.
However, a hearing device is a very small device with strict constraints in terms of computational power, memory space, etc. Therefore, a device communicating with a hearing device cannot use an off-the-shelf security algorithm and protocol, at the risk of e.g. depleting the hearing device battery or degrading functions of the hearing device rendering the hearing device quasi-useless.